Others differentiate between crops and fruit, holding that when a person sows in someone else’s land he is entitled only to the cost of his labor and the price of his seed. This is the view of many scholars of Madinah and was also adopted by Abū ʿUbayd. It is supported by the report from Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj in which the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“Whoever cultivates the land of a people without their permission is entitled to his expenses, but he has no share of the crop.”

The jurists then disagreed over liability for damage caused by livestock and beasts of burden, forming four opinions:

1. Every animal that is deliberately set loose obliges its owner to compensate for whatever it ruins.
2. The owner incurs no liability at all.
3. Owners are liable for damage done at night, but not for what is done in daylight.
4. Liability is due for animals kept under control, whereas no liability is incurred for those that escape of their own accord.

Those who hold that liability exists by night but not by day include Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī. The view that there is no liability whatsoever is ascribed to Abū Ḥanīfah and his colleagues. Unqualified liability is the position of al-Layth, though he stipulates that the owner is never charged more than the value of the offending livestock. The fourth opinion is reported from ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him.

Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī base their stance on two proofs:

First, the words of the Exalted:

“And [mention] David and Solomon, when they judged concerning the field when the sheep of the people had strayed into it by night, and We were witness to their judgment.” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:78)

Linguists affirm that the verb nafasha (“strayed”) is used only with reference to night-time grazing, a point invoked by those who hold that we are bound by the revealed laws that preceded ours.

Second, the mursal tradition transmitted from Ibn Shihāb:

“A she-camel belonging to al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib entered an orchard and caused damage. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—ruled that by day the owners of orchards must safeguard them, whereas whatever livestock destroy by night is a liability upon their owners.”

In other words, the owners must make restitution.

Abū Ḥanīfah’s principal evidence is the Prophet’s saying—peace and blessings be upon him:

“For a dumb animal, any injury it causes is without liability.”

Al-Ṭaḥāwī explained that the essence of Abū Ḥanīfah’s doctrine is that no compensation is due when the owner releases the animal while it is properly secured; but if he releases it